shows

Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business

Originally published in 1985, Neil Postman's groundbreaking polemic about the corrosive effects of television on our politics and public discourse has been hailed as a twenty-first-century book published in the twentieth century. Now, with television joined by more sophisticated electronic media—from the Internet to cell phones to DVDs—it has taken on even greater significance. Amusing Ourselves to Death is a prophetic look at what happens when politics, journalism, education, and even religion become subject to the demands of entertainment. It is also a blueprint for regaining controlof our media, so that they can serve our highest goals.

Firefly: The Official Companion: Volume One

Before the smash hit movie Serenity came Firefly, the cult TV series which started it all and became a DVD phenomenon, selling almost half a million copies.

Set 500 years in the future, Firefly centres around Mal Reynolds, captain of the ship-for-hire Serenity and its eclectic crew of galactic misfits. When he takes on two passengers, a young doctor and his mysterious, telepathic sister, he gets much more than he bargained for…

This official companion is just what the show's fervent fans, the `Browncoats', have been waiting for, with unseen photos, scripts, behind the scenes secrets, and exclusive input from the cast and crew, including of course creator Joss Whedon.

Firefly: The Official Companion: Volume Two

Before the smash hit movie Serenity came Firefly, the cult TV series which started it all and became a DVD phenomenon, selling almost half a million copies.

Set 500 years in the future, Firefly centres around Mal Reynolds, captain of the ship-for-hire Serenity and its eclectic crew of galactic misfits. When he takes on two passengers, a young doctor and his mysterious, telepathic sister, he gets much more than he bargained for…

This official companion is just what the show’s fervent fans, the ‘Browncoats’, have been waiting for, with unseen photos, scripts, behind the scenes secrets, and exclusive input from the cast and crew, including of course creator Joss Whedon.

Contains the second part of an extended interview with Joss Whedon, as well as exclusive new interviews with the cast, executive producer Tim Minear and many other writers and crewmembers; the full, uncut shooting scripts for ‘Jaynestown’, ‘Out of Gas’, ‘Ariel’, ‘War Stories’ ‘Trash’, ‘The Message’, ‘Heart of Gold’ and ‘Objects in Space’, annotated with memories from the cast and crew; extended behind-the-scenes interviews with the crew behind Firefly, including sections on the production design and visual effects, illustrated with unseen imagery; in addition a section on the Firefly fans and of course Vera...

The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present

AMERICA’S #1 BESTSELLING TELEVISION BOOK WITH MORE THAN HALF A MILLION COPIES IN PRINT–
NOW REVISED AND UPDATED!

PROGRAMS FROM ALL SEVEN COMMERCIAL BROADCAST NETWORKS, MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED CABLE NETWORKS, PLUS ALL MAJOR SYNDICATED SHOWS!

This is the must-have book for TV viewers in the new millennium–the entire history of primetime programs in one convenient volume. It’s a guide you’ll turn to again and again for information on every series ever telecast. There are entries for all the great shows, from evergreens like The Honeymooners, All in the Family, and Happy Days to modern classics like 24, The Office, and Desperate Housewives; all the gripping sci-fi series, from Captain Video and the new Battle Star Galactica to all versions of Star Trek; the popular serials, from Peyton Place and Dallas to Dawson’s Creek and Ugly Betty; the reality show phenomena American Idol, Survivor, and The Amazing Race; and the hits on cable, including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Top Chef, The Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Project Runway, and SpongeBob SquarePants. This comprehensive guide lists every program alphabetically and includes a complete broadcast history, cast, and engaging plot summary–along with exciting behind-the-scenes stories about the shows and the stars.

MORE THAN 500 ALL-NEW LISTINGS from Heroes and Grey’s Anatomy to 30 Rock and Nip/Tuck
UPDATES ON CONTINUING SHOWS such as CSI, Gilmore Girls, The Simpsons, and The Real World
EXTENSIVE CABLE COVERAGE with more than 1,000 entries, including a description of the programming on each major cable network
AND DON’T MISS the exclusive and updated “Ph.D. Trivia Quiz” of 200 questions that will challenge even the most ardent TV fan, plus a streamlined guide to TV-related websites for those who want to be constantly up-to-date

SPECIAL FEATURES!
• Annual program schedules at a glance for the past 61 years • Top-rated shows of each season • Emmy Award winners • Longest-running series • Spin-off series • Theme songs • A fascinating history of TV

“This is the Guinness Book of World Records . . .
the Encyclopedia Britannica of television!”
–TV Guide

Finding Serenity: Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly (Smart Pop series)

Serenity Found: More Unauthorized Essays on Joss Whedon's Firefly Universe (Smart Pop series)

Created by: Inside the Minds of Tv's Top Show Creators

As entertaining as it is enlightening, Created by… presents a stellar cast of 21 show creators who candidly talk about writing and selling hit television series.

J.J. Abrams (Alias, Lost)
Alan Ball (Six Feet Under)
Yvette Lee Bowser (Living Single, Half & Half)
Mark Brazill (That '70s Show)
Ilene Chaiken (The L Word)
Larry David (Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm)
Tom Fontana (Oz)
Tracy Gamble (8 Simple Rules)
Dave Hackel (Becker)
Barbara Hall (Joan of Arcadia)
Brenda Hampton (7th Heaven, Fat Actress)
Bill Lawrence (Scrubs)
Dennis Leoni (Resurrection Blvd.)
Max Mutchnick and David Kohan (Will & Grace)
Tracy Newman and Jonathan Stark (According to Jim)
Josh Schwartz (The O.C.)
Shawn Ryan (The Shield)
Amy Sherman-Palladino (Gilmore Girls)
Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel)

They discuss influences • writing spec scripts • first jobs in TV • getting an agent • mentors • being staffed as a writer • the pitch • writing a pilot • putting yourself in the characters you create • rewriting • producing a pilot • marketing • hiring a writing staff • making a show last • TV writing vs. film writing • drama vs. sitcom • cable vs. network TV • what show creators look for in a writer • writers block • luck … and much more.

Created by… is a lively, well-written must-have book for all screenwriters and television writers—wannabes, novices, and pros—as well as all avid TV fans.

Glued to the Set: The 60 Television Shows and Events That Made Us Who We Are Today

Do you love TV? Do you want a way to silence those poor souls who chastise you for spending too many hours in front of the tube? Glued to the Set is what you've been looking for. NPR commentator, cultural critic, and unapologetic TV-watcher Steven Stark explores six decades of television to find the shows and the events that prove how important this medium has been in the shaping of modern American culture. From Milton Berle's invention of TV-comedy to "ER and the fight for health-care reform," Stark engages in serious, thoroughly researched analysis while occasionally moving his tongue towards his cheek.

He examines the subversive pleasures of The Monkees, and the ways in which sitcoms both reflect and create ideas about family. The book's serious premise is kept afloat by Stark's lively prose, and this allows his points to hit home with a force that would be lost in a more academic arena. After reading Glued to the Set, America's Funniest Home Videos will never seem the same again: "As the theme song says: 'America, America, this is you.'" --Simon Leake

How did Dallas pave the way for the Reagan era?

Would Oswald have been assassinated if the cameras weren't rolling?

Who really loved Lucy more--Ricky or Ethel?...and what does that say about relationships?

You may think you know television--but when NPR commentator Steven Stark is finished pushing your buttons with fighting words and brilliant insights, you'll see in a whole new way what television has done to us as a nation.  From Beaver to Roseanne, Ed Sullivan to Oprah, Monday Night Football to MTV, Stark takes us on a guided tour of the tube, providing startling revelations about the power of its sixty most important shows and events in the history of television.  He catches in bright focus a hilarious, strange, and compelling image of ourselves as reflected on the small screen, and he shows us, with striking logic, the awesome power of television over our future and our fate.

Discover:

The most revealing and significant leading man on TV...Bob Newhart

Bill Cosby as racial trailblazer...and failure

Why The Beverly Hillbillies was the watershed program that kicked off the ongoing values debate--and the rise of the Christian Coalition

How Wheel of Fortune helped bring down communism and end the Cold War

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?: The Play-at-Home Companion Book to the Hit TV Show!

So you think you're smarter than a fifth grader? Well, as many contestants have already discovered on the smash hit TV show hosted by Jeff Foxworthy, you may have either forgotten more than you realize about "the three R's" or simply never learned in the first place! How much do you really know about third grade math? Fourth grade social studies? Fifth grade science? First grade spelling?

You may have a high school diploma or a college degree hanging on your wall, but are you smarter than a fifth grader? You'll find out in this book, which includes brain-teasing ten-question quizzes (including million-dollar bonus questions) on information the average eleven-year-old is expected to know—plus there are great bits of fun and fascinating trivia sprinkled throughout. Go ahead—we dare you to prove you're as bright as that gum-chewing kid with the backpack who's waiting on the corner for that yellow bus every morning. School is back in session. And maybe you'll even learn a thing or two that you missed by not paying attention the first time around.

The Daily Show and Philosophy: Moments of Zen in the Art of Fake News

An entertaining and insightful examination of the Emmy-award winning American satirical news show, broadcast on Comedy Central in the US, and (in an edited edition) on More4 in the UK and CNN International around the world.


* Includes discussion of both The Daily Show and its spin-off show, The Colbert Report

* Showcases philosophers at their best, discussing truth, knowledge, reality and the American Way

* Highlights the razor sharp critical skills of Jon Stewart and his colleagues

* Faces tough and surprisingly funny questions about politics, religion, and power head on